I’ve had a couple run-ins with depression. Shook hands, gotten to know her, maybe even made it to first base with my friend, depression. I have been lucky enough to shake it the times it has taken hold, but depression can be really damaging. Thankfully, leaning on my partner, friends, and family got me through all of that and today I (think I) am in a really healthy place mentally. The game we played this round reminded me of the bleak, hopeless, and dull feeling of depression, but in a positive way because I didn’t actually have to feel it! Jokes that are genuinely funny, but not making me laugh. Systems that have so many options, but none of them matter. Graphics that feels like the artist gave up halfway through each asset. Nothing seems to make any real sense while you are playing this game and yet you persist.
Patrick likes to suggest these weird, niche, itch.io/RPGmaker games and in general, that’s not necessarily what I was aiming to play when we started GameClub. I was more aiming to play classics or older interesting games that I hadn’t gotten around to playing before. That said, I have reluctantly agreed to play through two of these games from Patrick so far and they have been some of the best experiences I have gotten out of GameClub. Space Funeral is a bizarre, 1-hour journey with vibrant colors, off-kilter dialogue, and some real interesting characters. Beneath its quirky exterior, however, Space Funeral’s story and world are exploring some pretty intense emotional desolation and I really connected with it on that level.
When the game begins, the player takes control of Phillip — a bald person in a pajama onesie who is constantly crying. You’re in your house with your mother, your father, and in the corner, a second Phillip laying dead in a casket. After spending a minute thinking about what a dead Phillip in a casket could possibly mean, the player will most likely talk to Phillip’s parents and they will say to you something along the lines of “I think it’s time for you to leave”. Stepping outside of the house, Phillip finds himself in Scum Village and the player is assaulted with the full force of Space Funeral’s intense visuals. Vibrant colors, houses in the shape of screaming heads, and blood everywhere. There are a few NPCs scattered around Scum Village, but one of them, a wizard, tells Phillip that this world has been corrupted and that it does not have much time left. He says the only hope for survival is to find the “City of Forms”. With this information, Phillip sets off to escape this world before it collapses.
The plot, while minimal and abstract, ended up having a conclusion and ending that I was pretty satisfied with. The game definitely has something to say on multiple levels whether or not it intended to. Space Funeral critiques Japanese role-playing games in the way its battle system provides the player with a multitude of options and abilities to combat its pushover, paper-thin enemies. The way certain plot points unfold also seem to be mocking these sudden realization moments common in so many JRPGs for example: discovering one of your party members is actually a prince. Taking another shot at role playing games, Space Funeral informs the player early on in the game that enemies have certain weaknesses — a common mechanic to have in a game, but in Space Funeral the weaknesses are bizarre and obtuse like ’silent movies’ or ‘bibles’ instead of ‘fire’ or ‘lightning’. Taking in everything the game is telling you could easily make a new player stressed out, but in reality, you aren’t required to know or even use any of this knowledge, because the game’s focus is not on combat, but rather the mood or feeling it is portraying.
That mood? It’s despair. Despair with a twist of humor. That’s where I really started connecting with Space Funeral. Phillip is trapped in a world he doesn’t want to be in where everything seems off. It’s a feeling I have felt before at certain points of my life. The game will instill dread into the player then cut it with some of the most ridiculous/silly dialogue and yet the feeling of despair persists. It has been said before, but Space Funeral’s ‘vibe’ has a lot in common with the work of David Lynch (rest in peace). From his films to his music catalog, I can’t prove it, but I believe Lynch was a big influence for this game. Space Funeral isn’t trying to make sense - it is actively avoiding it in the hopes that it can make you feel something. Something you might not be able to explain with words.
Interestingly enough, one of the major visual influences for Space Funeral was an NES game called ‘Monster Party’ which just so happens to be the very first video game I ever played. My babysitter definitely should not have let me play that one, because I still have a recurring nightmare relating back to the horrors of the first Monster Party level. That said, I have a soft spot for the game and was really interested to see Space Funeral taking inspiration from it.
The soundtrack to this game reflects its mood perfectly. From the bleak, dreary rock songs to the tongue-in-cheek(?) organ solo track. I wanted to specifically shout out the pick for Scum Village’s theme, “White Waking” by Japanese experimental noise rock band, “Les Rallizes Denudes”. This 7-minute banger is absolutely PERFECT for this game. The recording is warm and has a lot of distortion and fuzz. The vocals are dirty and reverbed to the point where I can’t even make out the syllables of the lyrics. The whole thing feels like I spilled depression on my jeans and smeared it in a way that will never come out. The first time I booted up the game and heard this song, I stopped moving Phillip and let it play in its entirety three times over. That’s twenty-one minutes of “White Waking”. I could gush about how perfect I think each track is for the game, but just know that the rest of the soundtrack exudes a similarly perfect match to the game’s mood. Because of the overall negative vibe of Space Funeral, I could see the tracks being abrasive at first to a new player and yet there you are — tapping your feet to the rhythm like you’re in on some sick joke that no one else understands. You’re either being lulled into a sense of madness, or it’s becoming your new favorite tune. You’re not sure which, but it’s too late to back out now.
Space Funeral is a flawed game, but that’s what it is trying to be. It wears its flaws on its sleeve and doesn’t care if you like it or not. It’s a game that’s confident in what it has to say and how it wants to make you feel. It took me a while to write this review because I knew I felt like this game was special and could tell I needed to let it sink in and think about what it was saying. Personally, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did, but wow — I really connected with the game AND Phillip. I’m not saying I like depression, but boy do I like Space Funeral. If you happen to be interested in experiencing the feeling of dread or depression, Space Funeral is free to download on PC now.
Art by shadok
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